Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte Wins GOP Primary, Will Face Democrat Ryan Busse in November

Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) speaks on Capitol Hill, on Dec. 6, 2017. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte won the Republican primary nomination in the state’s gubernatorial race on Tuesday after defeating his challenger, Lakeside Republican representative and business owner Tanner Smith.

Mr. Gianforte was leading Mr. Smith with 76.5 percent of the vote compared to 23.5 percent with 81 percent of the votes counted, as of late Tuesday, according to The Associated Press which called the race at 8:38 p.m.

In the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primary, former firearms executive Ryan Busse defeated his opponent, attorney Jim Hunt, securing the nomination with 70.4 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press.

Mr. Hunt secured just 29.5 percent of the vote with 70 percent of the votes counted, as of late Tuesday, the agency reported.

Tuesday’s results mean the governor, who was elected in 2020 and is running for a second term, will go head-to-head with Mr. Busse in November.

In a post on the social media platform X late on Tuesday, Mr. Gianforte, the state’s 25th governor, thanked his supporters.

“Tonight, Montanans made it clear that they look forward to four more years of strong, steady, conservative leadership to stand up to Joe Biden. Thank you for your support,” he said. “Onward to November.”

The governor had faced rival Mr. Smith—a third-generation Montanan who announced his candidacy in March—in the race to secure his party’s nomination ahead of the November gubernatorial elections.

Mr. Smith, who owns a construction company and has served in the Montana House of Representatives since January 2023, had regularly sought to paint himself as more conservative than Mr. Gianforte, sharing videos in which he claimed to be the “true conservative Republican option” and vowing to fix issues ranging from property tax to parental rights in relation to so-called gender-affirming care and illegal immigration.

He has also taken a hardline approach to issues such as critical race theory, Second Amendment rights, and abortion rights, and advocated for curbs on Medicaid.

Gianforte Touts Historic Tax Cuts, Education Investments

Mr. Gianforte, a former tech-industry entrepreneur, campaigned on his “historic tax cuts” for Montanans which he said had “made Montana debt-free.”

He also touted his record investments in education, including raising teacher pay, and law enforcement, as well as his efforts to increase public access to more than 100,000 acres of public lands.

“Under Governor Gianforte’s leadership, more Montanans are working than ever before, unemployment is at record lows, and Montana has set new records in job and business creation,” his campaign website states.

Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) and President Donald Trump at a Make America Great Again rally in Missoula, Montana, on Oct. 18, 2018. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Gianforte Supports Trump

The governor had also spoken out in support of former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty last week by a New York jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Following the guilty verdict, Mr. Gianforte wrote on the social media platform X that a “jury from one of the bluest cities in America just convicted the Republican nominee for president.”

He went on to call the ruling “yet another attempt by Democrats to use the courts and lawfare to do what they can’t do at the ballot box.”

“It’s a sham,” he wrote. “Voters will render the final verdict this November.”

President Trump, who previously backed Mr. Gianforte in his 2020 race, had not yet endorsed the Republican governor in the 2024 race.

Mr. Gianforte will now face Mr. Busse, who has heavily criticized the Republican, on issues such as property taxes, abortion rights, and public schools, in November.

Before his win on Tuesday, Mr. Busse accused Mr. Gianforte of pulling a “political stunt” via his Property Tax Task Force, which was established in January to provide recommendations to reform the property tax system and reduce the burden of property taxes on taxpayers.

“Here’s our much simpler solution for lowering the property taxes that Gianforte raised,” Mr. Busse wrote on X. “If this ’task force' were serious, they would stop wasting taxpayer money on more out-of-state bureaucrats and red tape, and instead investigate why Gianforte gave himself a tax cut while all his neighbors got tax increases,” he continued.

“Time to AUDIT the Dept. of Revenue, lower your taxes, get your money back, and #GetYourMontanaBack!” he concluded.

In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Anna Marian Block, a spokesperson for Mr. Gianforte’s campaign, said: “While radical Ryan Busse’s entire campaign is a series of dishonest political stunts, Governor Gianforte is committed to delivering substantial relief to Montana families.

“Amid Joe Biden’s affordability crisis, the governor has provided Montanans the largest property tax rebate in state history,

“Recognizing the need for permanent reform, the bipartisan Property Tax Task Force was established to develop long-term solutions, mirroring the governor’s successful approach to affordable housing reforms.”